[Metzroth]

Hey! I bought my 2000 XJ last week and I would like to change all the fluids that are safe to change. I'm a firm believer in AMSOIL synthetics and would like to use them for all of my fluids. The chassis has 280k on it but the motor has 80k or so and I highly doubt the trans has 280k on it but I guess it is possible. The fluid does not smell burnt but it is definitely not red. It isn't black either it is still a translucent tan color. Anyway, do you guys think it would be safe to change the trans fluid with it being a question mark as to how old the current fluid is? There isn't anything to worry about as far as changing fluid in the transfer case and axles is there? Sorry if my questions are stupid and I DID search to see if there was anything about changing fluid if you aren't sure about how old it is and I didn't find much. I'm planning to change brake fluid, coolant, engine oil, trans fluid, transfer case, and axles. I'm also planning to change the Spark plugs and maybe the airfilter unless it would be smarter to wait for a CAI or a Snorkel? The air filter isn't terribly dirty and I eventually plan to upgrade the intake anyway. I just want to make sure I do all the preventative maintenance that I can do easily right away and then stay on top of it. Thanks for the help! I look forward to reading your responses.

[tjwalker]

Your strategy of changing ALL fluids is a good one. This establishes a baseline for all future fluid changes, as well as protecting all moving parts of your vehicle. Fluids are the lifeblood of your XJ.

I run AMSOIL products as well. I run them in the transmission, diffs, t-case. Amsoil universal ATF in the tranny and the t-case along with a bottle of LubeGard red tranny additive every 30k.

Changing the transmission fluid is highly recommended. There is absolutely no good reason to leave old, worn fluid in your transmission. However, with high mileage and unknown history of maintenance, I think I would go with draining the fluid in the pan. Drive for a few weeks, then repeat once or possibly twice more so that you have replaced the majority of the fluid. Be careful not to overfill; too much fluid is bad news for a transmission.
Dropping the pan to clean/replace the filter (it's basically a screen) isn't a bad idea although generally, there isn't much debris found.

Enjoy your new XJ!

[xjfever]

X2 changing the transmission fluid will not hurt the transmission, I wouldn't recommend a power flush though. Just drain and refill like stated above and you will be fine. Congradulations on the new jeep.

[Metzroth]

THX guys. I figured changing it 4 qts at a time wouldn't hurt it I just didn't know if flushing it would be a bad idea or not. I've always heard that changing dirty trans fluid can lead to slippage, that is probably in extreme cases where the trans fluid is burnt and there are lots of particules in the fluid. I will change the trans fluid filter the first time as well as the 4 qts in the pan and then 2-3 times more. TJwalker, I'm assuming the tranny additive is only being added to the tranny? :P Just checking. What is the purpose of the additive.

[tjwalker]

I add LubeGard (red) every 30k to my transmission only when changing fluid. T-case, use ATF only. I'm really not a big additive guy (22 years in Engineering so show me) but after researching this product and talking to 2 transmission shop owners who use it and highly recommend it, I started using it about 6 years ago. I don't believe it is necessary to the well being of the transmission, but I have done a bit of experimenting with quality of shifts before/after adding LubeGard with multiple vehicles, and I have seen evidence of LubeGard smoothing out the shift points, enough to make me fork out the $10-12 bucks for it every 2-3 years.

Flushing a high mileage transmission with unknown history is kind of controversial. Use the SEARCH function and you'll find multiple threads on it; read them and decide for yourself.

I think multiple replacement of pan fluids is a reasonable way to go with your AW4.